As Ye Qingxue stepped out of the room, everyone turned to look at her again, seemingly to confirm whether her hands were stained with blood, indicating that she had killed Madam Wan.
Ignoring the layers of gazes around her, Ye Qingxue looked directly at Xiao Bao, who was walking towards her carrying a basket of earthworms.
"Look, these are the earthworms that Sister Dongbai and I dug together," Xiaobao said. He had a fair face and clear eyes, and was very pretty. There was no pretense or attempt to hide anything in his expression.
Ye Qingxue understood him even less.
"Third Aunt doesn't need earthworms here anymore, come with me to find Second Aunt. By the way, is Second Aunt currently at Ningcui Pavilion with Second Miss?" Ye Qingxue looked at Ji Mingwei.
Ji Mingwei was walking towards the house to find Madam Wan when she heard Ye Qingxue's question. She stopped and turned around.
As if she were frightened, she said nervously, "Yes, Second Aunt is at Ningcui Pavilion, and Second Miss can't do without her now."
After Ji Mingwei finished speaking, she quickly went into the house and helped Madam Wan, who was curled up on the ground, to her feet: "Aunt, I'll take you back to your room now. Don't be afraid, you'll be alright."
The deadly medicine that Madam Min gave them had been secretly replaced while they were changing their clothes.
Although the medicine is poisonous, it is not fatal. However, in order to deceive Ye Qingxue and prevent Madam Min from noticing their abnormality, the poison was still administered very heavily.
Although not fatal, it is painful and agonizing enough.
Madam Wan stood up shakily. She was in so much pain and felt weak all over. Her legs trembled uncontrollably.
Thinking of that deadly medicine, if it hadn't been changed, Ye Qingxue would definitely have forced it into her stomach. Madam Wan felt a wave of fear and unconsciously tightened her grip on Ji Mingwei's wrist.
Although she is suffering physically and was kicked by Ye Qingxue, she has at least successfully sown discord between Ye Qingxue and Madam Min, so that Madam Min will have someone to keep her in check from now on.
Even more fortunately... on that night nine years ago, she really did hear Madam Min and Marquis Zhongyong arguing. Later, Marquis Zhongyong suddenly died, and she did suspect Madam Min and really looked for evidence.
Supported by Ji Mingwei, Madam Wan endured the pain and walked unsteadily to the door. Suddenly, she was shocked to find the courtyard filled with a dark mass of people.
Why did it suddenly get dark?
Madam Wan looked up at the sky, which was clear and bright. There was still a long time before it got dark. It turned out that the entire courtyard was surrounded by hundreds of guards.
Ye Qingxue's path to Ningcui Pavilion was thus blocked.
Hundreds of guards, each with a sword at their waist, had serious expressions and a murderous aura emanating from them, filling the entire courtyard.
The backyard was mostly occupied by women, who had never seen such a scene before. They were all silent and trembling with fear. It was rare for Madam Zhou's courtyard to have so many people, yet it was also unusually quiet.
The leader was a young man dressed in a scarlet brocade robe, black boots, and a white jade crown. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips. His face looked both fierce and mean. He was Ye Cunjin, the young marquis of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion and the vice minister of the Ministry of War.
He walked up to Ye Qingxue with a strong sense of pressure, looking down at her: "I've been busy outside these past few days. As your older brother, I haven't had time to visit you since I learned you've returned home. I hope you'll forgive me."
Ye Qingxue smiled: "Your Excellency is too kind. You could have come to see me alone. Why did you bring a hundred guards to pay your respects? But since you're already here, why don't they greet me?"
Ye Cunjin's lips twitched suddenly as he stared at the girl in front of him. Was she pretending to be stupid?
She actually thought that he had brought hundreds of guards to block her way because he had come to pay his respects to her.
However, before coming here, Ye Cunjin had decided to be a reasonable person, so he slightly raised his hand and said, "Greetings to the young lady."
First courtesy, then force.
Over a hundred guards immediately bowed and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, young lady!"
The sound was like a tidal wave, its momentum awe-inspiring.
But Ye Qingxue's expression didn't change at all.
Ye Cunjin said, "I know everything that my younger sister has done. My mother has already told me that we don't blame you for not knowing manners since you grew up in the countryside. But even if we don't blame you, what you did was still a big mistake."
"Therefore, for the sake of my younger sister's future, and for the lives of hundreds of people in the Marquis's mansion, I urge my younger sister to come with me to the Prince Ding's mansion to admit her mistakes, apologize, and annul the engagement!"
Ye Qingxue said, "Your Excellency, there is no need to worry. If I have committed an unforgivable mistake that has trampled on the dignity of the royal family, His Highness Prince Ding will personally come to annul the engagement."
“If he doesn’t come to break off the engagement, I will still be Prince Ding’s fiancée. I’m your sister. Wouldn’t you be happy if I married Prince Ding and became his concubine?”
Ye Cunjin narrowed his eyes slightly as he scrutinized her.
Yesterday, his mother sent him a message telling him about Ye Qingxue's actions, which shocked him greatly.
But he thought that Ye Qingxue was just a girl, how powerful could she be?
He thought that if he stood in front of Ye Qingxue with hundreds of guards, Ye Qingxue would obediently do whatever he said.
Now, Ye Qingxue's words left him speechless and furious. Did this wild girl have no shame at all?
She spent the whole night secretly meeting with another man, and instead of taking the initiative to apologize, break off the engagement, or beg Prince Ding for her life, she actually waited for Prince Ding to come to her door!?
Is she mentally challenged? Or did growing up in the countryside without any guidance lead to her being so foolish?
“Little sister, you grew up in the village, you don’t understand. Your marriage to Prince Ding was personally bestowed by His Majesty. You have made such a grave mistake. If we really wait for Prince Ding to come and annul the engagement, I’m afraid he will also bring with him an imperial edict to confiscate your property and exterminate your clan.”
Ye Cunjin said, "Therefore, you must now come with me to the Prince Ding's residence to apologize!"
"Is it that serious?" Ye Qingxue looked enlightened. "Then why did my second aunt join forces with Ye Yabing to poison me and use the antidote to force me to break off my engagement with Prince Ding and give the position of Princess Ding to Ye Yabing?"
"Aren't they deceiving the emperor? They need to plead guilty before the emperor even more than I do, otherwise what if their entire family is implicated and their entire clan is executed?"
The guards, old women, maids, and servants were all stunned. The second madam and the second young lady had joined forces to poison him? Were they trying to steal the eldest young lady's position as the Princess Consort?
"You yourself are not proper, yet you turn around and falsely accuse your sister!" Madam Zhou had somehow walked to the door, leaning on the door frame and angrily scolding Ye Qingxue. She was extremely disappointed in this daughter, who never learned her lesson!
Ye Cunjin gritted his teeth and said, "Even Mother says you're framing her, little sister, what else do you have to say? Come with me to confess and annul the engagement, don't force me to take action!"
Madam Zhou said, "Jin'er, if she refuses to go voluntarily, then tie her up and send her to the Prince Ding's residence to beg for forgiveness and annul the engagement! Let's pretend that our Marquis's residence doesn't have such a disgraceful girl!"
The implication was that killing her to atone for the crime at the Prince's mansion would be acceptable.
Ye Cunjin had finished reasoning with her and didn't want to waste any more time. He raised his hand, and the guards surrounded Ye Qingxue.
Ye Qingxue did not move. She heard Madam Zhou's weak but extremely resentful voice: "If you had listened to me earlier, you wouldn't be in this state now."
They clearly believed that she would be taken away by Ye Cunjin.
After all, there were hundreds of guards.
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